Another chapter in Facebook

by Jessica Berry on 22 January 2015

Facebook has already been busy this year. Which comes as no surprise, considering they are evidently hell-bent on internet, or should I say ‘world domination’. They started out the year by reiterating their focus on the new universal language (photos, emojis, stickers and mainly videos… just in case you haven’t learnt Universe-glish yet) by announcing their acquisition of video infrastructure startup QuickFire Networks. This demonstrates their intent to move forward with branded content by expanding and improving the video experience on the site, predominately for mobile devices.

Facebook at Work

As well as ‘adding’ a new friend, Facey also soft-launched ‘Facebook at Work’ last Wednesday – a separate platform which allows enterprises to create their own micro-network for employees. The app, which has been in the works for about six months, was made available for download to only a select few iOS and Android users. According to the site itself:

“Facebook at Work lets you create a work account that is separate from your personal Facebook account. With a Facebook at Work account, you can use Facebook tools to interact with co-workers. Things you share using your work account will only be visible to other people at your company.”

Apparently when Zucks makes an announcement, he just posts it on Facebook at Work. Handy!

Enterprise social networking has been around for a number of years, but it’s still a tricky concept for many organisations to get a grip on… what’s the real benefit for employees and, most importantly, for employers?

Our social media team at BCM has registered for if/when the Australian version of Facebook at Work pilots. So until then, we can only speculate.

Drones and satellites

Another recent move by Facebook that’s also causing a bit of a stir is the listing of 1,200 jobs advertised on Tuesday this week, 54 of which are specifically for the development of Virtual Reality headset, Oculus Rift. Other crucial roles up for grabs include managers to supervise the logistics, procurement and worldwide supply planning… which could be a sign that the Oculus project is nearing its commercial phase. The 14% employee expansion also includes developers and engineers to fuel the company’s ambitious efforts to build its own satellites and drones, capable of delivering Internet service to remote areas of the globe.

Super Bowl targeting

Adding to all of this, Facebook announced yesterday that advertisers will have the added option of ‘hyper-targeting’ in the lead up to, and during, the Super Bowl. What this means is that Facebook has started tracking comments and status updates on the site, segmenting these users and creating a ‘Super Bowl’ audience. A similar move was made during last year’s World Cup. This time, however, advertisers have the option to not only target football fans, but also anyone who is liking, commenting and sharing content related to the Super Bowl – parties, recipes, TV commercials and just about any topics surrounding the game!

So as you can see our friends at Facebook are off to a flying start in 2015. What are your thoughts on their latest endeavours? Let us know in the comments below.